Fuji announces FinePix S1500fdBy
Mike Tomkins(Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 00:01 EST)Rounding out its announcements for the day, Fujifilm has announced a successor to last year's FinePix S1000 digital camera.

The Fujifilm FinePix S1500fd features an SLR-like body dominated by a powerful 12x optical zoom lens with a somewhat tight 33mm-equivalent wide angle. Maximum apertures in the Fuji FinePix S1500fd range from f/2.8 to f/5.0. The S1500fd's image sensor has ten megapixel resolution, and is mounted on a movable platter allowing for sensor-shift type image stabilization. ISO sensitivity in the Fujifilm S1500fd ranges up to a maximum of ISO 1,600 equivalent at full resolution.

Fuji S1500fd owners will frame and review their images on either a 2.7" LCD display or a 0.2" FLCD electronic viewfinder - both of which have a 97% viewing angle. Befitting its SLR-like styling, the Fujifilm FinePix S1500 offers a good range of manual controls - including both aperture and shutter-priority modes and a full manual mode. There's no manual focusing in the Fuji FinePix S1500, but other options that can be manually controlled include both white balance and ISO sensitivity.

The S1500 stores its images on xD, SD or SDHC cards or in 23MB of built-in memory. Four AA batteries provide power, and the Fujifilm S1500 is rated as good for 300 shots on the alkaline disposable batteries which accompany the camera from the factory. The Fuji S1500 will be available from March 2009 in a black body color only with pricing of about $250. For more details, read our Fuji S1500 preview.

Valhalla, NY, February 17, 2009– FUJIFILM U.S.A. Inc. today announced the successor to the wildly popular FinePix S1000 with the introduction of the FinePix S1500.

Ideal for advanced amateur photographers who are looking for an affordable, SLR-styled digital camera, the 10-MegaPixel FinePix S1500is wrapped with an eye-catching black casing and has a Fujinon 12x optical zoom (33mm-396mm equivalent) offering great range and flexibility. Building on the legacy of Fujifilm’s S-series digital cameras, the FinePix S1500 includes Fujifilm's Dual Image Stabilization and SR Auto (Automatic Scene Recognition).

Automatic Scene Recognition SR Auto (Automatic Scene Recognition) enables the FinePix S1500to intelligently recognize six types of scenes automatically. For each picture taken in this mode, the S1500 will optimize the ideal exposure, focus, white balance and ISO for the scene to ensure the best quality picture is captured with ease.

Dual Image Stabilization Dual Image Stabilization is a marriage of mechanical sensor shift stabilization, to steady the photographer's hand, and Fujifilm's Picture Stabilization Technology, which uses fast shutter speeds with ISO high sensitivity, to prevent virtually all types of image blur. As a result, an increase in clarity and sharpness is achieved, even in low lighting conditions.

Rounding out the FinePix S1500 powerful feature set is a large 2.7" high-resolution (230k dots) LCD, electronic viewfinder (EVF) and ISO levels of up to ISO 1600 at full resolution.

Fujifilm's FinePix S1500 also offers the following useful features:

Full Manual Photographic Control: Photo enthusiasts and advanced photographers have total control with manual adjustment options for various camera settings including resolution, ISO, aperture, shutter speed and more.

Face Detection with Automatic Red Eye Removal: Face Detection operates by identifying and prioritizing faces in a framed scene, and then adjusting the focus and exposure accordingly to ensure the sharpness and clarity of human subjects in the picture, regardless of background. After a shot is captured, each detected face is instantly checked for red eye. If it is found, it is corrected automatically, saving the time-consuming process of fixing it later.

Instant Zoom: Instant Zoom makes it easy to frame and compose shots with moving subjects at high zoom settings. A selectable frame on the LCD screen lets you bracket and track the subject in standard wide view. When the shutter is released, Instant Zoom boosts the zoom ratio and captures only the enlarged area as a full-sized image, keeping the subject in the frame.

Continuous High Speed Shooting mode: This mode allows moving subjects to be captured by shooting high-speed shots of up to 15 frames at 7.5 fps at 2MP and six frames at 3.3 fps at 5MP.

Panoramic Shooting mode: Users can capture, combine and save a maximum of three consecutive shots at 3MP resolution each as a panoramic picture.

Movie Recording: VGA quality at 30 frames per second with sound.

14 Pre-programmed Scene Modes: The FinePix S1500 features 14 pre-programmed scene modes that offer a one-touch setting for almost any situation.

Operates on 4xAA Batteries: The ultimate in convenience and accessibility, using AA batteries means in a pinch, more batteries are just moments away. Four x AA alkaline battery power delivers 300 shots and up to 700 shots using lithium AA battery.

About Fujifilm FUJIFILM Corporation (NASDAQ:FUJI) brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, photofinishing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 15 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2008, employs more than 70,000 people worldwide and in the year ended March 31, 2008, had global revenues of $24.7 billion. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.

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